Water meter



Dwz, 1930. EG/,MON 1,783,707

WATER METER Filed Nov. 17, 1927 "annum Patented Dec.` 2, 1930 This im@tinY fentes to water mais: and particularly' to` meters of' the type in Which a'vvabble disc is caused to gyrate vby theflow 'of liquidpassi-ng through the'meter.

' "5 a Watermeter of theico'mmondisk type,

having a 'n'ieasuringr chamber tted 'With a nutating disk'piston, a ball socket and aV disk spindle ,rotating around a] conical control block, it isknovvn, to those versed inthel art,

'10 thatl owingto xed inlet and outlet ports,

ftogether, with the inherent peculiarities k'of thefdesigmthe povver` applied to the disk piston is of` varying intensityy at practically every instant of the krevolution off nutation;

` '15 also,` thedisk'pistomat its periphery, having acircu1nference *always greater* than the greatest circumference of 1th'e'fcone; yaround which it travels, there of-'nece'ssitytakes place a justifying or slippage, Tto' enable the piston 2o 'to start 'the `next ,nuta'tion *from* the 1 saine 'point as 1theprevious"fone; iiirthernrOre, due to thef'reasons stated I above; unbalanced strainsand thrusts are caused in the :f'nieasufry chamber, that have aftende'ncy at" 'certain 25 positions ofthe diskto causerit t'o' from joint forming rcontact* -onV the cone-faced bringing the disk spindle vvth'more or less "shock againstjthe A controlv block, 'causing retardation ofthe disk movement" and Vconse- 30 quentlyloss of registratinj l y Another effect l`or" unbalanced forces in fthe,

measuring chamber is to Wear ltheball seats 'or bearings inthe directioniof the last `quarterv of the chamber tovvardthe outlet port, allovv- 35'ihg thefdisk eventually 4torub.against the Walls ofv the chamber, fwitl further lossfffof registratiom and "atl:` certain -rates 2o'gsp'eed to break'thedisk. "i IQhavef found'rby'experiment and study,

f "40 tliatthese harnifful phenomena can `be greatl `y modified ,andy controlled projecti'onsr ,elevatons up'n 'the' surface prtheidiskygpifcp- 'erly' designedto fit intodepressions`formediin 'the surface of-"theV cone by placingfthesepr'o-y "modify orreduce the slipping `action when the. 'elevation depression, f as to Vuse some 'ofthe'energy of the' stream in the measuring thepeakeo'fth shock andlhullg upth,

'ongthe' disk,l`it\ispossible to cause the disk spindle to allfavvayjfroin the control block for a varying' time and distance, directly proportionate toi the distance the axial' contact lineof-thedisk irs/allowed to Vfallbelow-the 50 crown line'of the cones. i A If elevations)and"depressions are formed 'the disk` comes'into contact With the cones 'at certain point-s in the'nutation; f .4 l, rFurther, itis possible to so form and'place chamber, to pressthe disk with greater Jforce upon the [cones at one "point than i another; also by "presenting a" favorable, or unfavorable fa'ceito the path of the stream,.it is possibleto retard or accelerate f the stream at preferredv points and` to `Vincrease or decrease the energyjafppledto the disk'pistonatvarying points() By these controlling or modifying means,itislpossible to greatly flatten out @ser Agaimjitlis possible by the use of vanes or projections @properly y placedA upon the' disk piston, Withdepressions in thesurface of the cones, toleierta frcealvvaystendng to keep Vthe disk'from'rubbing'against'the Wall in any onepositiom'orto I counteract a force `tending to driveitagainst said Wall in given position.

f Hrewfreg thmthod employed has a1- vvaysfes'ultedinchoking or retarding the flow D0 P'TENfQFFrCE- i soV cushioning means at the-points of contact atof water at the ports, the consequent loss of energy taking place at some non-moving point. The herein described method increases the opposition to the flow in the measuring chamber itself, by means of the moving member, and converts t-he energy extracted into useful work.

The principal object of this invention is to overcome the foregoing difficulties by providing the nutating or oscilla-ting disc with means engageable with correlated means in the upper and lower coned ends of the disc or measuring chamber whereby the 'disc is given a balanced thrust in the chamber. A

A further feature is in the provision of the instant of the great-est drag or impedance of the disc, the means employed also presenting a favorable surface tothe thrust of theY liquid at predetermined points.

Another purpose .is to produce means providing a greater clearance from the conical central block, when the disc is travelling along its path on the coned ends of the chamber, than at other points, to control the slippage of the disc.

These important objects are accomplished by the novel construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a material part of this disclosure, and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a meter made in accordance with the invention, the indexing device being omitted.

Figure 2 is atop plan view of the lower section of the chamber with the nutating disc in place, parts being broken away to show the lower end wall of the chamber.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1 taken in the direction of the arrow.

Figure 4 is a similarsectional view taken at al right angle to Figure 3 on line 4 4 of Figure 1. l

Figure 5 is a partial sectional view of the meter, the section being taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Referring in greater detail to the'drawing, the numeral 10 designates in general a conventional meter body usually composed of two sections having between theml a measuring chamber 11, its side walls being` determined by a radius struck from the center of the chamber, its lower end 12 having a conically raised inner surface and its upper end 13 being similarly coned inwardly. r

Centrally in the coned lower end wall 12 isV a concave recess 14, a corresponding recess l15 being formed in the upper wall, these recesses constituting together a spherical seat, closed at the bottom, the top containing an opening 16, its edge being in the shape of a conic frus- `trum with the larger diameter outward.

Patent, is zinlet and outlet port, respectively 18 and 19.

A nutating disc 20 is fitted to the chamber 11 to move therein and at the center of the disc is a sphere 21 close fitting the seat 14*15 and having a stem 22 extending at a right angle with the sides of the disc, outward through the opening 16 to adjacent a conical shaped block 27 on the driving spindle 23 of the index mechanism, to drive the same by engaging its fork 24, as seen in Figure 4, and it is to be noted that the inner end of the port partition plate 17 is concavely curved to fit against the sphere 21.

The disc 20 has a convergent angular opening 25'extending from its periphery to the lsphere '21' to clearlthepartition plate 17 as the opposite the plate 17, this arrangement preventing rotation of the disc but permitting it to fluctuate freely fas it wabbles or gyrates in its orbit, which obviously has a. conical path. f

Y, The foregoing description is given in order that a clear understanding of the invention may be attained, which is important, in view of the peculiar motion of the disc, the motion being rectified by means now to be described. Formed in one or both of the chamber end walls 12 and 13 are a plurality of depressions 31 and 32, res ectivelyupper and lower, these depressions eing made in any preferred shape or contour, disposed radially or otherwise and in any required number.

Corresponding lugs 33 and 34 on the sides of the disc 2O are shaped to engage in the depressions, these lugs producinga rolling motion, in a manner comparable to a gear tooth .with its mate.

.panying drawings shall be interpreted as il- .lustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 1. Ina water meter having a chamber provided With oppositely disposed smooth conical surfaces having'a pair of oppositely disposed radial recesses, a Vplane circular disc `within thechamber, a stemextending at right angles from the disc, and oppositely disposed radial ribs on said disc, said ribs and recesses cooperating to affect the movements of the stem in predetermined positions.

2. In a Awater meter having a chamberprovided With oppositely disposed smooth conical surfaces having a pair of oppositelyV disposed rad1al recesses, a` planeV circular'disc' 4 Within the chamber, and oppositely disposed Vradial ribs on said disc, said ribs and recesses cooperatingv to affect the movements of the disc. 'f

3. In a Water metei` having a chamber provided With a smooth conical surface, a plane circular disc having a cut-out portion and- -radial ribs on the disc positionedfat right angles to the out-out portiomsaid conical sur'- face having recesses cooperating with the ribs to aect the movements of the disc. v

This Specification ASigned this ninth. day of November, 1927. i

ERNEST E. .GAMoN.-. 

